1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a computerized system for managing the preparation and prosecution of applications for the protection of industrial property rights, such as patents, in various countries. More specifically, the invention relates to a computer system useful for docketing new applications to be filed in various countries having mutually different laws and rules for giving protection for the industrial property rights, for controlling the preparation of application documents and the procedure for filing the applications, for docketing intermediate actions from the patent offices of various countries, for controlling terms including reminders to persons in charge of specific applications of the due date and so forth, and for issuing instructions to persons in various countries for taking required actions.
2. Description of the Background Art
As is well known, different countries require procedures in granting patents, registrations of utility models, designs and trademarks and so forth. This prevents simplification of the preparation and prosecution of applications filed in various countries. For instance, in preparing the application, different countries require different minimum documents for obtaining a filing date, for obtaining benefits of priority rights and so forth. Also, the different countries have different time periods for prosecuting the applications. In cases where an applicant uses foreign persons for prosecuting applications in various countries, each set of instructions to be issued by the applicant has to be timely and adapted to the practice of the subjective country. This requires substantial attention by the person in charge of the application. This requires the applicant to hire qualified persons for managing the applications to be filed and prosecuted in the various countries. This increases the cost of filing the applications in various countries and serves as a discouraging factor for the applicant to file foreign applications.
In order to manage such complicated procedures in various countries, there have been proposed and developed various computerized managing systems in the recent years. Such prior proposed systems are designed to manage applications in one country in a managing system which is independent of that for managing applications in other countries. This makes the overall system unacceptably expensive. Furthermore, prior proposed managing systems are governed by software programs containing rules for prosecuting and controlling applications of individual country as a part of the program. This requires modification of the entire program every time there is a revision of the laws in the associated country or a revision of internal procedures.